BAHAMAS
DNA from the 1,000-year-old tooth of an indigenous Taino woman, excavated on the island of Eleuthera, suggests at least one modern Caribbean population is related to her. The finding contradicts a theory that the Taino went extinct after contact with Europeans.
U.S.
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A viral Twitter post led to the identification of an African-American woman among a large group of men in an archival photograph from a 1971 whale biology conference in Virginia. The only person unidentified, she turned out to be Sheila Minor—a biological research technician with a 35-year scientific career.
ANTARCTICA
Using satellites, drones and ground surveys, scientists spotted a previously unknown population of 1.5 million Adélie penguins thriving on the Danger Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula. This species has been declining in many other parts of the continent.
KENYA
The world’s last male northern white rhino, called “Sudan,” died in March at age 45 (the equivalent of about 90 for humans). Only two females of the subspecies, Sudan's daughter and granddaughter, remain.
AUSTRALIA
A fisher discovered around 150 stranded whales on a Hamelin Bay beach, prompting a major rescue effort that saved only five. Biologists do not know what causes stranding behavior but think it may happen when the animals are sick, injured or lost.
